6-Pack: Louisiana poised to tie NCAA baseball high water mark after dramatic Tulane, Grambling wins

We won’t know for sure until the NCAA baseball committee reveals its 64-team field Monday morning. But it appears that a record-tying six Louisiana schools will be part of the field.

Only once before, in 2000, have six schools from Louisiana heard their name called on selection Monday in a single year.

Here’s what we know: Nicholls and Tulane are in the field for the second straight year after winning the Southland and American Athletic Conference tournament titles, and Grambling is in for the first time since 2010 after capturing the Southwestern Athletic Conference tournament.

The Colonels rolled to a run-rule victory Saturday night over McNeese in Hammond. Sunday’s results were way more dramatic.

Tulane got a walk-off home run from Jackson Linn in the bottom of the ninth inning to defeat Wichita State 11-10 for the AAC title, while Grambling scored the winning run on an error to walk off Jackson State 6-5 in the SWAC title game.

The Play of the Day! 🏆#GramFam | #ThisIsTheG🐯 pic.twitter.com/oReWubJ670

— Grambling State Baseball (@GramSt_Bsb) May 26, 2024

The Colonels, Green Wave and Tigers are expected to be joined by LSU, Louisiana and Louisiana Tech as at-large teams.

The Tigers, despite finishing in a five-way tie for seventh place in the SEC with a 13-17 record, ensured their spot in the field with their run to the SEC Tournament finals on Sunday, where they lost to top-seeded Tennessee 4-3. LSU entered Sunday with an RPI of 19.

The Ragin’ Cajuns won the regular-season title in the Sun Belt Conference but went 0-2 in the conference tournament. They have an RPI of 38.

The Bulldogs shared the Conference USA regular-season crown and got to the title game on their home field in Ruston but lost to fellow league co-champ Dallas Baptist 17-10 Sunday. Tech’s RPI is 31.

LSU, UL and Tech are most likely No. 2 seeds. Nicholls could be a No. 3 seed thanks to an RPI of 62, while Tulane could also possibly move to the No. 3 line but is more likely a No. 4. Grambling will certainly be a No. 4 regional seed.

In 2000, it was the Cajuns, ULM, LSU, McNeese, Tulane and the University of New Orleans reaching the postseason.

LSU was a regional and super regional host, with ULM and UNO joining the Tigers at the old Alex Box Stadium for the regional, and went on to win the program’s fifth national championship, defeating Stanford in the title game.

UL hosted as a No. 2 seed, with McNeese also there, and not only won the regional, but knocked off top-seeded South Carolina on the road in the super regionals to make the program’s only trip to Omaha.

Tulane was sent to Mississippi State, where it went 1-2.

Six other times, Louisiana has sent five teams to the tournament. The first of those was in 1987, which was the era of the 48-team bracket with six-team regionals sending teams to Omaha. All five Louisiana schools ended up at UNO’s Privateer Park, with LSU defeating top-seeded Cal State Fullerton for the title.

The other five-team seasons were 1988, 1992, 1999, 2005 and, most recently, 2016.

The 16 regional sites for this year’s tournament will be announced Sunday night and the full bracket will be revealed at 11 a.m. CDT Monday on ESPN2.

Nearby host sites as potential landing spots for the Louisiana schools include Texas A&M, Arkansas and Florida State.